Wednesday 19th April 2023
Today, Dublin Cemeteries Trust unveiled a new beautifully-landscaped garden for the interment of urns at Newlands Cross Cemetery. This purpose-built space consists of memorial garden plots, memorial garden niches and a central columbarium wall and is for those who are seeking a tranquil, aesthetically-pleasing location for the interment of ashes of their loved ones.
Data collated by Dublin Cemeteries Trust (DCT), who opened Newlands Cross in 2000, found that, across their three crematoria - Glasnevin, Dardistown and Newlands Cross, a total of 3,154 cremations were carried out in 2022. This is more than double the total number of burials (1,504) carried out in these three locations, plus at their other sites at Palmerstown Cemetery and Goldenbridge Cemetery (also in 2022).
Speaking at the launch in Newlands Cross Cemetery, Aoife Waters, CEO of Dublin Cemeteries Trust, said:
“Over the last ten years, we’ve seen more and more people choose cremation over burial with almost seven in ten (68%) of our customers now opting for cremation. During the pandemic, we found that people started thinking about death in a different way, and we saw an increase in the numbers of people purchasing graves as part of their end-of-life planning process, either for themselves or their family. Approximately half of the graves acquired by families and individuals are advance purchases, where they are planning ahead for the future.The Memorial Garden Plot is very similar to a traditional grave, but on a smaller scale. This option has a low limestone headstone marking the plot which can accommodate up to four urns beneath the surface. The headstone can be inscribed as normal.
Our Memorial Garden at Newlands Cross is a beautiful new addition to the cemetery and gives people a range of new options from the garden plot, garden niche and central columbarium wall, to inter ashes of their loved ones, or indeed choose a resting place for themselves.”
The Memorial Garden Niche is a small granite chamber or vault that holds up to four urns above the surface. Some space for inscription is available on the stone.
The Central Columbarium Wall can accommodate up to two urns. These are a number of traditional columbarium walls that are arranged at varying angles across the centre of the Memorial Garden.
